Isidoro León Becerra (January 4, 1911 – July 25, 2002) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945. The 34-year-old

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

was a native of

Cruces, Cuba Cruces () is a municipality and town in Cienfuegos Province, Cuba. It is the home of the Mal Tiempo National Park which commemorates a battle in the 1895 War of Independence. History The town was founded in 1852 in a place known as ''Sabana d ...

. León is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II. He made his major league debut on June 21, 1945 in a home game against the Brooklyn Dodgers at

Shibe Park Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1 ...

. He was the starting and losing pitcher in a 9–2 defeat.

Cy Buker Cyril Owen Buker (February 5, 1918 – October 11, 2011) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945. The 26-year-old rookie right-hander stood and weighed . Buker is one of many ballplayers who only appe ...

was the winning pitcher. León's final big league appearance was on September 16. He was released by Philadelphia on February 26, 1946. Season and career totals include 14 games pitched, 4 starts, 0

complete games In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

, a 0–4 record with 4

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

, 23

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

allowed in 38 innings, and an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

of 5.35. In 1948, he played for the

New York Cubans The New York Cubans were a Negro league baseball team that played during the 1930s and from 1939 to 1950. Despite playing in the Negro leagues, the team occasionally employed white-skinned Hispanic baseball players as well, because Hispanics in ...

of the Negro National League. León died at the age of 91 in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

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1911 births 2002 deaths People from Cruces, Cuba Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Philadelphia Phillies players Abilene Blue Sox players Dublin Green Sox players Havana Cubans players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Portland Beavers players Sherman–Denison Twins players St. Petersburg Saints players {{cuba-baseball-pitcher-stub